No Gluten/no Meat Help..

[HopeMum]

I have a 3 year old celiac, a picky 6 year old and I'm a wannabe vegetarian.

My husband likes ground beef type meals (tacos, chili etc) so I used to use Boca crumbles.

When my daughter was diagnosed 2 years ago I switched to real ground beef for us and gluten free kid meals, pasta, fruit etc but I'm finding that I can't bring myself to eat beef..yuk.

My question is, if I switch back to Boca and other wheaty meat replacements how worried should I be about CC? Would I need to use all separate saucepans, baking dishes etc or is a cycle through the dishwasher enough?

Sorry, this is kind of rambling I'm just fed up of making meals for kids and husband while I live on cheese (and wine:)

Claire

[ciavyn]

Fear not -- you'll find many vegetarians on here who can give you some much needed suggestions. Take it one step at a time, and try not to frustrate yourself. You'll get there.

[AlysounRI]

Claire:

Most of those vegetarian meat replacements contain wheat, if I learned it right.

I think you're beyond cross contamination there!!

[lucia]

Your best bet is tempeh. You can marinate it (or buy it pre-marinated) and fry it in a pan just like beef.

[kareng]

Saw these but haven't tried them. They are gluten-free veggie burgers.

Open Original Shared Link

[missy'smom]

The sunshine burgers are not bad in my opinion. I haven't tried them but there are recipes for cutlets and "meatballs" using bread crumbs, grains, and tofu. What about lentil tacos or fish tacos? I used to go through phases where I wouldn't eat gr. beef and would cook up two batches of taco filling one beef for the family and one of lentils with the same seasonings and added ingredients for me. One caution about lentils. I have a vegetarian friend who uses lentils quite a bit and started to get sick again. Then she started picking through her lentils before cooking and removing all stray bits and grains. Problem solved. If the kids, or you are not eating meat, please be sure you aren't ending up as "pastaterians". A diet based on easliy digested carbs and fruit is bad news for blood sugar even if one doesn't have diabetes. Whole grains like quinoa that are protein rich are a much better gluten-free choice than say, white rice for example. I was a semivegetarian most of my life, and while diet is not the sole reason I now have diabetes, it would have served me well to have been much more conscious, educated and balanced in my diet.

[sb2178]

You could also switch to ground turkey if you can stomach that. Then, work on moving to beans instead of ground meat. Say you're concerned about his cholesterol is he asks... or e. coli.

week one: 1/4 beans 3/4 meat

week two: 1/2 beans 1/2 meat

week three: 3/4 beans 1/4 meat

week four: 7/8 beans 1/8 meat

week five: 100% beans

and beans are cheap. really cheap if you buy dried ones and cook them yourself. kidney, black, pinto, small red, navy, lima, cannollini, dominican red, fava, garbanzo...

[GlutenFreeManna]

Do you eat eggs? Black bean burgers are easy to make and tasty but all the recipes I have seen have eggs and flour. The flour is easy to replace with any gluten free flour or gluten free oatmeal. The main ingredients are beans, egg, about a TBL flour, and any shredded veggies you like-- carrots and onions are good. Add a little salt and pepper to taste...You may have to play with the ratio of beans to veggies--too many veggies and it falls apart easily but it should only take one large egg per two cans of beans. They freeze really well too so, one you have recipe that works for you make up a big batch and put it in the freezer. Then while your family is having beef burgers, you can pull out you pre-cooked black bean burger and reheat for yourself.

Another thing you can do is use refried beans in place of meat in your tacos. You can make the beef for them and heat up some beans for yourself. Mix them with a little chili powder or some salsa if you need a little flavor. Top with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, whatever you like...

Also find a really good vegetarian chili recipe. No need to use a meat replacement. Go all out on the veggies, use multiple types of beans (if your celiac child can handle beans). When you serve it don't call it chili, call it stew or something else. You don't have to mention that it doesn't have meat if you think your family is less likely to try a "vegetarian" chili. Just serve it and see what they say. The worst that happens is they say "Ew, this needs meat" (LOL) and you freeze the rest of the chili for yourself. Next time you make chili con carne for them and you eat the veggie chili from the freezer.

[AnnieRae]

I have a 3 year old celiac, a picky 6 year old and I'm a wannabe vegetarian.

My husband likes ground beef type meals (tacos, chili etc) so I used to use Boca crumbles.

When my daughter was diagnosed 2 years ago I switched to real ground beef for us and gluten free kid meals, pasta, fruit etc but I'm finding that I can't bring myself to eat beef..yuk.

My question is, if I switch back to Boca and other wheaty meat replacements how worried should I be about CC? Would I need to use all separate saucepans, baking dishes etc or is a cycle through the dishwasher enough?

Sorry, this is kind of rambling I'm just fed up of making meals for kids and husband while I live on cheese (and wine:)

Claire

We do both Gluten-Free and Gluten items in my household too, my husband eats Gluten, while our kids and I don't. I also don't eat beef, and just stick to turkey and chicken. In regards to you asking about the separate saucepans and baking dishes, while cooking in them yes you should use different ones, but once they are washed they are good for either. When I make something like french toast (were I use gluten-free bread for my son and I and regular bread for my husband) I put ours in the egg mixture and cook them in the pan first, then do my husbands so there is no cross contamination. I do the same thing with tortillas, heating up the corn ones for us first and then the flour ones. And when my husband grills he will put my chicken or turkey burgers that are fixed with gluten-free stuff first, then his beef which can be mixed with stuff that contains Gluten if he wants. We also have 2 toasters so our gluten-free bread isn't contaminated. Just remember that if you want to use one pan and make multiple items, cook the gluten-free stuff first and you won't have to worry.

[Juliebove]

Saw these but haven't tried them. They are gluten-free veggie burgers.

Open Original Shared Link

They're really good! I like the Southwestern and my daughter likes the Barbecue.